Hair treating apparatus

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for sealing off preselected portions of hair on a subject for treatment without affecting the untreated portions. A strip of flexible non-porous material (preferably transparent) is positioned with one end thereof underlying strands of hair selected from the subject such that it extends lengthwise therewith. The other exposed end of the flexible strip which does not underly the selected strands of hair (or is opposite from the end adjacent the hair roots) is folded back on itself over top of the hair strands and the overlying side edges of the strip are sealed together with portions of the hair strands enclosed therebetween. The remaining open end edges of the flexible strip are clamped transversely in a sealed relationship with the hair strands disposed therebetween. The portion of the hair strand enclosed within the flexible strip prior to sealing the same or the remaining exposed portions of the hair strands adjacent the hair roots may be treated after the flexible strip is sealed as desired.

United States Patent 1 Esposto [4 1 Apr. 2, 1974 HAIR TREATING APPARATUS [75] Inventor: Victor Esposto, Pittsburgh, Pa

[73] Assignee: Frost Enterprises, Inc., Wilmington,

Del.

[22] Filed: June 21, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 264,905

[52] U.S. Cl. 132/9, 132/48 [51] Int. Cl A45d 1/00 [58] Field of Search 132/9, 48, 46, 48 R, 36.1 A

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,692,032 9/1972 Regas 132/9 1,550,930 8/1925 Sullivan 132/9 3,295,535 1/1967 Amato 132/9 3,543,771 12/1970 Altman 132/9 2,850,022 9/1958 Fracter 132/48 R 2,149,234 2/1939 Steinbach.... 132/36.l A

2,725,060 11/1955 Pazul 132/9 2,246,605 6/1941 Snyder 132/36.l A

Primary Examiner-Louis G. Mancene Assistant ExaminerG re gory E. McNeill V Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Carothers and Carothers [5 7] ABSTRACT A method and apparatus for sealing off preselected portions of hair on a subject for treatment without affecting the untreated portions. A strip of flexible nonporous material (preferably transparent) is positioned with one end thereof underlying strands of hair se lected from the subject such that it extends lengthwise therewith. The other exposed end of the flexible strip which does not underly the selected strands of hair (or is opposite from the end adjacent the hair roots) is folded back on itself over top of the hair strands and the overlying side edges of the strip are sealed together with portions of the hair strands enclosed therebetween. The remaining open end edges of the flexible strip are clamped transversely in a sealed relationship with the hair strands disposed therebetween. The portion of the hair strand enclosed within the flexible strip prior to sealing the same or the remaining exposed portions of the hair strands adjacent the hair roots may be treated after the flexible strip is sealed as desired.

8 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTED APR 2 I974 SHEEI 1 [IF 2 & Fr

HAIR TREATING APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention generally pertains to hair treating methods and apparatus and more particularly to treating preselected portions of hair on a subject without affecting the untreated portions thereof.

2. Discussion of the Prior Art In the beautician art of bleaching or otherwise coloring the bar, it is often desired to merely bleach or otherwise color preselected portions of the hair rather than the entire head of hair. Such hair treatments are known as hair tipping, frosting, feathering, and the like. Heretofore, the most prominent method for carrying out such treatments is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,957,480, issued to A. Widoff et al. on Oct. 25, 1960.

In the Widoff et al method of treating preselected portions of hair on a persons head, the subjects head is completely covered with a cap having perforations over substantially the entire surface thereof. The beautician then inserts a hook-shaped needle, such as a crochet hook, through each perforation, hooks a number of hair strands and then draws the hooked hair strands back through the perforations of the cap while the remaining hair strands are still covered by the cap. Treating materials are then applied to the exposed hair strands which have been drawn through the cap. The exposed treated hair is then covered with a second nonperforated cap to form a dead air space between the two caps to retain a uniform temperature. While this method of hair treatment has proved adequate for a number of years, it nevertheless inherently possesses a number of undesirable features which limit its versatility of application and the desired degree of selectivity within which a beautician may operate to obtain the desired results and the method further tends to be some what uncomfortable for the person being treated.

Depending upon the individual skills of the beautician, the Widoff et al. method can produce uncomfortable results for the subject receiving the hair treatment. When the first perforated cap is placed on the subjects head, the crochet needle must be penetrated through each perforation or slot and if the tip of the needle engages the scalp of the subject, discomfort will naturally be experienced by the subject. Furthermore, when the strands of hair underlying the cap are hooked by the crocket needle and drawn through each individual slit or perforation, some degree of pain is necessarily felt by the subject as the strands of hair are pulled.

Due to the fact that these slits or perforations in the inner cap cannot make a positive sealed engagement with the hair strands passing therethrough, it is sometimes experienced that the hair treating chemicals, such as bleach, may penetrate these perforations and thereby affect and treat portions of the hair which were not desired to be treated. Furthermore, some of the hair treating chemicals such as bleach may also prove irritating to the scalp of the subject if contact is made with the skin, as the bleach used for frosting is much stronger than normal bleach used to bleach the hair.

When the second cap is placed on the subjects head in the Widoff method, the subjects head is then subjected to heat treatment and the enclosure of the human head within these two caps while being subjected to heat treatment tends to be uncomfortable in view of the fact that the air next to the subjects scalp cannot be circulated and the caps by necessity must be of a nonporous material which restricts circulation of air adjacent to the subjects scalp.

In the Widoff method, due to the fact that the crochet needle must be inserted through each perforation in order to select strands of hair, it is not possible to preselect desired portions or strands of hair with any great accuracy. Furthermore, when it is desired to retouch the frosting, it is not possible with the Widoff method to retouch the exact same frosted hair strand portions which were previously bleached, as they must be selected by the crochet needle hook through the perforations.

Also, with the Widoff method, it is not possible to provide reverse frosting. Reverse frosting is provided on a subject with blonde hair, for example, by leaving the hair strand tips blonde while darkening the remaining portion of the hair strands adjacent the scalp. The Widoff method also does not permit the beautician to treat the hair very close to the scalp when treating the hair tips.

Due to the fact that the degree of selectivity of hair strands is limited in the Widoff method, undesirable results can be obtained such as a blurred effect.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Strands of hair are preselected from the subject and one end of the nonporous strip of material is positioned under the preselected strands of hair such that it extends therewith in a lengthwise direction with the strands of hair overlying one end of the strip. The other exposed end of the strip is then folded back on itself over top of the hair strands and the overlying side edges of the strip are sealed together with portions of the hair strands enclosed therebetween and the remaining open end edges of the strip are transversely clamped into a sealed relationship with the hair strands disposed therebetween.

The hair strand portions sealed within the flexible strips may be treated prior to the step of folding the strip material back on itself or the exposed portions of the hair strands lying adjacent to the scalp may be treated subsequent to clamping and sealing the hair strand portions within the flexible strip.

The hair strand portions sealed within the flexible strips may be treated prior to the step of folding the strip material back on itself or the exposed portions of the hair strands lying adjacent to the scalp may be treated subsequent to clamping and sealing the hair strand portions within the flexible strip.

The flexible strip material is preferably transparent in order to permit inspection of the treating process as it progresses.

The means for sealing the overlying side edges of the strip is preferably provided by coextensive metallic foil side edge strips secured to the flexible strip which is preferably a transparent plastic, such as polyethylene.

When the strip of flexible sheet material is folded back over onto itself with the preselected portion of hair strands enclosed in the fold, the overlying side edges of foil are folded together such that they seal the overlying side edges together.

When treating the tips of selected hair strands, it is preferred that when one end of the flexible strip is positioned under the preselected hair strand, that that end adjacent the scalp be transversely clamped such that it is placed in a sealed relationship with the strands of hair overlying the strip. Then the portions of the hair strands overlying the flexible strip may be treated with the desired chemicals, such as bleach, after which the exposed bottom end of the flexible strip is folded back over onto itself over top of the treated portion of the hair strand, the overlying foil edges are then sealed together and the remaining open end of the flexible strip is clamped into a sealed relationship with the strands of hair coextensively with the first transverse seal or clamp.

The first clamp for clamping the underlying end of flexible strip to the selected strands of hair preferably consists of two arms pivoted to a common support adjacent one end with a temporary lock at the other end to temporarily retain the arms together in a clamped relationship with the flexible strip and hair strands clamped in a sealed relation between the arms.

In order to effect a good seal, the inside edges of the arms which engage the hair strands and plastic strip therebetween are preferably provided with a groove or recess on one mating edge with a mating tapered edge on the other inside edge of the arms in order to provide a better seal with the strands of hair and plastic disposed between the arms.

A third clamping arm is preferably pivotally connected to the first-mentioned clamp such that when the remaining end of the flexible strip is disposed between the third arm and the second clamp, the third arm may be lowered such that it clamps the remaining second end of the flexible strip in sealed engagement with the first clamp.

In order to provide for excess seepage of bleaching chemicals and the like through the clamped ends of the flexible strip, a longitudinal channel or recess is provided on the inside face of the second clamping arm where it is covered by the third clamping arm when in the closed position in order to provide room for the fluid chemicals contained between the flexible strip to expand and entrain without escaping.

By using the hair treating method and apparatus of the present invention, it thus is possible to truly treat any desired preselected portions of the hair which heretofore was not practically possible. Reverse frosting, as previously explained, is also obtainable.

It is also obvious that the frosting may be retouched at any time as the strands of hair which are previously treated may be selected again with a high degree of accuracy for further treatment.

A sun burst effect may also be accomplished, which was not heretofore possible. This is done by selecting a group of hair strands and back combing it to remove approximately 60 percent of the strands from the selected group. The remaining 40 percent is then bleached in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.

The subject furthermore experiences much less discomfort when subjected to the heat application portion of the heat treatment. As no imperforate cap seals the subjects scalp from circulating air, the subject is much more comfortable due to the fact that the heated air may circulate adjacent the scalp.

Also, the sealing of the treating chemicals from the scalp of the subject is done in a positive manner which will not give rise to accidental leaks which commonly occur when a bleaching fluid is applied to the hair strands to be treated and expands due to the chemical reaction which takes place.

Due to the versatility and selectivity provided by the method and apparatus of the present invention, the hair treatment process may be carried out at a much faster rate than heretofore possible.

Other objects and advantages appear in the following description and claims.

The accompanying drawings show, for the purpose of exemplification without limiting the invention or the claims thereto. certain practical embodiments illustrating the principles of this invention wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view with portions removed of the flexible strip material utilized in the method and apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view with portions removed illustrating the flexible strip shown in FIG. 1 temporarily attached to a hair clamp for securement of the strip to hair strand portions to be treated.

FIG. 3 is a view in side elevation illustrating the initial attachment of the apparatus of the present invention to selected strands of hair on the head of a person.

FIG. 4 is a view in side elevation illustrating the final step of securement of the hair treating apparatus of the present invention to selected strands of hair on the head of a person.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the hair clamps illustrated in FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. 1, the transparent plastic sheet strip 1 (preferably made of flexible polyethylene sheet material or any other suitable plastic) is approximately 4 to 5 inches wide and 16 inches long and A 2 mills thick. The transparent plastic sheet strip 1 is provided with its coextensive metallic foil side edge strips 2, which are secured directly to the plastic sheet material 1 and preferably completely overly the same. The foil strips 2 may be an aluminum foil or any other suitable metallic foil which upon being creased will maintain its folds or creases such that when overlying foil edges are folded together they will provide an effective sea].

It may be seen from FIG. 1 that the completely flexible sheet strip consisting of the transparent plastic portion 1 and the foil strip edges 2 may be manufactured in a continuous sheet or web and cut at desired lengths for use. At the same time that the sheet material is being separated or cut transversely, short longitudinal cuts 3 are provided at one end of the plastic transparent sheet material 1 to provide a tab end 4 which is also at the same time provided with the two perforations or holes 5 which are utilized to secure the flexible strip to a clamp as illustrated in FIG. 2.

Referring to both FIGS. 1 and 2, the clamp 6 illustrated in FIG. 2 is temporarily secured to the transparent sheet strip 1 by inserting the outer end 7 of the lower arm 8 of the clamp 6 into one of the openings 5 provided in the tab 4 and out the remaining opening 5 such that the arm 7 is weaved in and out of the openings 5 respectively. Once arm 8 has been inserted through the openings 5 and is centered with respect to the flexible sheet strip as shown in FIG. 2, the entire clamp 6 is rotated about the axis of the lower arm 8 in either direction (preferably away from the center por tion of the flexible strip) until the tab 4 is tightly wrapped about the arm 7 as indicated in the final position illustrated in FIG. 2. The holes 5 are preferably made just large enough to provide a snug fit when the lower arm 8 is passed therethrough.

When this step is completed, a group of hair strands is selected from the subject, such as illustrated in FIG. 3 as hair strand group 9. This may be done by selecting a group of strands with a comb, or by the use of a comb in combination with a needle-like object which can be used to select particular strands of hair which have been picked up by the comb, or as another method, the beautician may select a group of strands between his forefinger and thumb, insert his comb in the group of strands and backcomb towards the scalp of the subject thereby shoving back and eliminating a percentage of the hair strands leaving only a selected number of hair strands gripped between his forefinger and thumb which will be utilized as the group of hair strands 9.

The group of hair strands 9 selected is then passed between the lower arm 8 of the clamp 6 and the locking arm 10 positioned directly thereabove. The locking arm 10 is then lowered such that it pivots about its hinge 11 so that the tapered edge 12 is received in the corresponding upwardly facing mating groove 13 provided in the lower arm 8 so that the group of hair strands and the sheet strip tab 4 positioned between the two arms 8 and 10 are brought into a snug sealed relationship with the arms. This sealed relationship is maintained by pivoting the U-shaped lock member 14 about its axis 15 in the direction of arrow 16 so that it passes over the end 7 of lower arm 8 as illustrated in FIG. 3 to maintain the arms in clamped engagement. At this point, the group of hair strands overlying the transparent flexible sheet strip 1 may be treated with bleach or any other selected chemicals if desired without contacting the bleach or chemical with the hair underlying the plastic sheet strip. If the hair overlying the flexible sheet strip 1 is not to be treated, such as in the treatment for reverse frosting, no treatment will be applied to the selected strands of hair and the sealing process will be continued as set forth hereinafter so that the remaining root or base portions of the hair strands exposed 0n the other side of the clamp 6 may be treated.

The exposed lower end 18 of the flexible sheet strip is then folded up and back over top of the upper portion of the transparent sheet 1 as indicated at FIG. 4 such that lower end 18 then approximately overlies upper end 19 with the selected group of hair strands lying in the fold of the flexible sheet 1. Then the overlying metallic foil strip edges 2 are folded together in a sealed relationship as indicated in FIG. 4 to prevent the escape of the hair treating chemicals laterally from within the transparent pouch thus formed. The open end 18 and the remaining exposed portions of the upper end 19 of the flexible sheet are passed between locking bar 10 and the upper arm 20 pivotally secured to the side of locking arm or bar 10 as indicated at 21. Arm 20 is then lowered such that it pinches and clamps the transparent flexible plastic sheet and foil disposed between it and the locking arm 10 in a sealed relationship which prevents the escape of any chemicals.

The outer end of the upper arm 20 is provided with a locking notch 22 which receives the locking detent or projection 23 when locking arm 20 is in its full closed position. Projection 23 is preferably integrally molded of a plastic with the U-shaped lock member 14 as indicated.

The three arms 8, 10 and 20 of the clamp 6 are preferably manufactured of a plastic through a suitable injection mold process. The lower arm 8 is provided with a transverse opening to receive the hinge 11 in a snap engagement relationship. Hinge 11 is a cylindrical member integrally molded with arm 10 as is also its supporting tab 24. In a similar manner, arm 20 is molded integrally with a hinge pin at 21 which is received in a snap fit relationship in a corresponding opening in arm 10. The U-shaped clamp member 10 may also be molded in a similar manner and also in a like manner secured to arm 10.

Once the final step in sealing the group of hair strands within the pouch formed by transparent flexible sheet 1 is accomplished as indicated in FIG. 4, the beautician may, if desired, treat or otherwise color the root or base portions of the group of strands remaining exposed on the top side of the clamp 6. Of course, in actual practice, a plurality of flexible sheet strips 1 and corresponding clamps 6 will be placed on the subjects head. For example, a beautician might apply 12 to 24 of the devices to the head of the subject. If the process of reverse frosting is be carried out, the beautician will place all 12 or 24 devices on the subject's head prior to any treatment of the hair adjacent the strand roots. If the beautician is to treat the tips of the hair, he will, of course, treat the selected group of hair strands contained within the pouch prior to sealing the same. In this regard, it should be noted that the clamp 6 may be placed extremely close to the scalp of the subject (approximately one-eighth inch) thus permitting the beautician to treat the group of hair strands overlying the flexible sheet strip 1 very close to the roots, which was not possible by previous methods.

If the beautician treats the group of hair strands contained within the pouch formed by the flexible sheet strips as indicated in FIG. 4, he will place the subject with the plurality of such devices on the subject's head under a hair dryer or in any other appropriate heat application device. He will then periodically view the process through the transparent sheet strip material 1 to determine the extent of the bleaching progress. As soon as he determines that the treatment has progressed to a sufficient degree, the beautician will then unlock upper arm 20, remove end 18 of the flexible strip 1 and unfold the overlying foil strip edges 2 such that the device is secured to the subjects head in the manner illustrated in FIG. 3. At this point, the beautician may then rinse the chemical treatment from the group of hair strands with water by using the underlying flexible sheet strip 1 as a trough to carry off the rinsed chemical solution without touching or affecting the underlying portions of the hair with the chemical being rinsed.

Once the bleach has been removed, then the beautician may apply any color toners desired to the strands and resecure the pouch, if necessary, as indicated in FIG. 4 or remove the entire apparatus as desired.

Although the flexible sheet strip 1 need not necessarily be transparent, it is preferred that it so be in order that the beautician may easily determine the progress of his treatment.

Also, it is obvious that other means may be provided for sealing the side edges 2 of the flexible strip 1 than the use of foil strips. For example, the plastic may be folded over and then clamped snugly with appropriate side clamps.

Also, various other methods may be provided to secure the end 19 of the flexible strip 1 to the clamp 6. For example, a separate piece of sheet material could be secured to the end of the strip to form a sleeve through which the lower arm 8 could be inserted. As an alternative, the clamp provided by arms 8 and 10 could be utilized alone to secure the group of hair strands and the plastic strip therebetween without more. it will also be realized that one of ordinary skill in the art could provide other clamps than that illustrated in FIG. 2 which would be an obvious mechanical equivalent thereof.

A preferred embodiment of the clamp per se is shown in F IG. wherein like parts are designated the same as those in FIG. 2. The clamp 30 illustrated in this figure differs from the one shown in FIG. 2 primarily in the manner in which it is hinged, the manner in which the third arm 20 is retained in its closed position, and in the provision of an expansion channel 31 in arm 10.

In regard to the main hinge, arm is provided with an integrally molded hinge pin 32 which has an enlarged snap head as indicated. Pin 32 passes through a hinge opening in arm 20 and then through an opening in flexible hinge bracket 33 with a snap fit for retention. Arm 8 is provided with a similar integrally molded hinge pin 34 which passes through a bottom opening in bracket 33 with a snap fit. Flexible bracket 33 is bent in a U-shape and is retained on the opposite side in the same manner by two hinge pins.

Arm 20 is retained in its closed position by means of the retaining slot 35 which makes a snap fit over hinge pin when U member 14 is swung out of the way as indicated by arrow 16. This snap fit is provided by lips 36 which snap over pin 15 which is integrally molded wtih arm 10.

Channel or recess 31 is provided on the inside face of arm 10 so that any chemicals lodged between the overlying sheets of plastic adjacent ends 18 and 19 of the flexible strip (FIGS. 2, 3 and 4) will be entrained into the channel to prevent leakage when or while all the arms are in their closed position.

In this embodiment, beveled edge 12 of arm 10 and the mating groove 13 in lower arm 8 are provided at the rear of the clamp so that the clamp may be positioned extremely close to the scalp of the subject.

Pointed projections 37 are provided at the bottom of arm 8 in order to assist in or assure the grippage of the flexible strip material tongue 4 (FIGS. 1 and 2) when wound about arm 8, and to help insure retension of the wound tongue 4 thereabout.

I claim:

1. A hair treating apparatus comprising a strip of flex ible non-perforate substantially transparent sheet plastic, first clamp means operable to temporarily clamp preselected adjacent strands of hair in a sealed relationship with one underlying end of said flexible strip, sec ond clamp means adjacent to said first clamp means and operable to temporarily clamp other portions of said flexible strip selected to overlie said first clamp means in a sealed relationship with said first seal established by said first clamp means and, coextensive metallic foil side edge strips secured to said plastic strip to retain overlying edges of said strip together when said strip is folded to form a pouch.

2. The hair treating apparatus of claim 1 wherein said first clamp consists of two arms pivoted to a common support adjacent one end with a temporary lock at the other end to temporarily retain them together in a clamped relationship.

3. The hair treating apparatus of claim 2 wherein the top of said two arms has a tapered bottom edge facing the bottom of said arms.

4. The hair treating apparatus of claim 3 wherein said bottom arm has a mating groove to receive said tapered edge.

5. The hair treating apparatus of claim 3 wherein said second clamp consists of a third arm pivoted adjacent one end relative to said top bar and having means to temporarily maintain it in engagement with said top arm when said flexible material is disposed therebetween.

6. The hair treating apparatus of claim 5 wherein said third arm lies against said top arm and is pivoted about the same pivot such that said means to temporarily maintain them in clamping engagement is provided by the frictional forces occuring between said arms when said flexible material is disposed therebetween.

7. The hair treating apparatus of claim 5 wherein an expansion channel is provided in a side face of said top second arm and facing said third arm.

8. The hair treating apparatus of claim I wherein said plastic strip is provided with a plurality of transversely spaced apertures adjacent one end thereof and receiving said locking means for temporary securement thereto. 

1. A hair treating apparatus comprising a strip of flexible nonperforate substantially transparent sheet plastic, first clamp means operable to temporarily clamp preselected adjacent strands of hair in a sealed relationship with one underlying end of said flexible strip, second clamp means adjacent to said first clamp means and operable to temporarily clamp other portions of said flexible strip selected to overlie said first clamp means in a sealed relationship with said first seal established by said first clamp means and, coextensive metallic foil side edge strips secured to said plastic strip to retain overlying edges of said strip together when said strip is folded to form a pouch.
 2. The hair treating apparatus of claim 1 wherein said first clamp consists of two arms pivoted to a common support adjacent one end with a temporary lock at the other end to temporarily retain them together in a clamped relationship.
 3. The hair treating apparatus of claim 2 wherein the top of said two arms has a tapered bottom edge facing the bottom of said arms.
 4. The hair treating apparatus of claim 3 wherein said bottom arm has a mating groove to receive said tapered edge.
 5. The hair treating apparatus of claim 3 wherein said second clamp consists of a third arm pivoted adjacent one end relative to said top bar and having means to temporarily maintain it in engagement with said top arm when said flexible material is disposed therebetween.
 6. The hair treating apparatus of claim 5 wherein said third arm lies against said top arm and is pivoted about the same pivot such that said means to temporarily maintain them in clamping engagement is provided by the frictional forces occuring between said arms when said flexible material is disposed therebetween.
 7. The hair treating apparatus of claim 5 wherein an expansion channel is provided in a side face of said top second arm and facing said third arm.
 8. The hair treating apparatus of claim 1 wherein said plastic strip is provided with a plurality of transversely spaced apertures adjacent one end thereof and receiving said locking means for temporary securement thereto. 